Cigarette-former.



PATRNTRD MAY 26, 1903.

c. o. BRATLRY. CIGARETTE FORMER.

APPLIUATIOI FILED ROV. 6, 1902.

UNITED STATES Patented May 26, 1903.

CHARLES O. BEATLEY, OF MCKEES ROCKS, PENNSYLVANIA.

CIGARETTE-FORMER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,256, dated May 26, 1903.

I Application led November 6, 1902. Serial No. 130,345. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, CHARLES O. BEATLEY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at McKees Rocks, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cigarette-Formers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had t-herein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in cigarette-formers;

and the object ot' the invention is to provide a device which may be readily and conveniently attached to the ordinary pouch or package containing tobacco and remain permanently attached thereto until the said pouch or package has been emptied, the device embodying in its structure a tube or stem, upon which is wound the paper forming the wrapper of the cigarette and in which stem or tube is means for facilitating the feeding and packing of the tobacco into the paper Wrapper of the cigarette.

My invention has for its further object to provide a device of this kind by the aid of which cigarettes which are oval in end or cross sectionmay be as readily formed-as those which are circular in end or cross section.

The invention has for its still further object to provide means for normally closing the outlet from the ordinary package ,or pouch into the tube or stem when the device is not in use.

In describing the invention in detail reference is had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification and whereinv like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views,in which- Figure lis a central vertical sectional view of myimproved cigarette-former, showing the same applied to an ordinary pouch or package, the latter also being in section. Fig. 2 is an end plan-view of the device detached.

Fig. 3 is a central vertical sectional view ofv the device, showing the round instead of the oval tube. Fig. 4 isan end plan view of the same. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view thereof. Fig. 6 is a detail side elevation of the feed and packing device detached.

' To put my invention into practice, I provide the same with an oval-shaped cup l, which is adapted to be inserted into the tobacco pouch or package 2 and is securely retained therein by the draw-string' ordinarily employed for tobacco which is packed in packages of this nature. This cupl has centrally secured thereto a tube or hollow stem 3, which in practice is preferably made oval in cross- `:section or end view, whereby the oval cigarette, which is the preferred form, may readily be produced, though it will be observed that I may employ a circular tubeor stem 4, as

seen in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 of the drawings. In using the device the paper (not shown) which forms the Wrapper of the cigarette iswrapped upon the tube or former 8 or 4, as the case may be, and the device is inverted so that the package or pouch 2 will be uppermost, as seen in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The plunger-rod 5, which is arranged centrally of the tube or former 3 or 4, is then raised, which elevates the .valve 6 at the inlet into the tube or former and allows the tobacco contained in the pouch or package to flow through the tube or former into the closed lower end of the wrapper, and as the plungerrod 5 is lowered the presser or packing plunger 7 on the lower end of the rod 5 packs the tobacco firmly Within the cigarette-wrapper. The rod 5 is extended through the former or tube 3 and given a slight bend, being-carried outwardly through the opening provided therefor in the cup l and curved to lform the ring 8 to receive the linger of the operator. In the formatiouof the cigarette the wrapper after being Wound on the tube or former with a portion of the end extending then has'its end crimped in, so as to close the cigarette at one end, and the plunger-rod 5 is then reciprocated vertically, so as to open the inlet into the tube and permit the tobacco to flow therein, the wrapper being slowly drawn ott the former as it becomes iilled with tobacco.

By the employment of the valve 6 and the presser or plunger 7 the amount of tobacco fed into the former at each reciprocationof the plunger-rod 5 is controlled, the valve 6 closing the opening each time that the plunger-rod descends and the plunger or packer 7 pressing the tobacco into the cigarette-wrapper. This plunger or packer 7, it will be observed, is of less diameter than the interior diameter of the former, whereby the tobacco IOO will be allowed to How around the same. With the substantially oval shaped former the valve 6 and the packer 7 Will of course be shaped to conform to the tube or former, and with the circular tube or former this valve will likewise be circular at its large end, being, however, tapered in both constructions.

In practice I preferably provide a small hook 9 on the side of the tube or former adjacent to the cup 1 in order that the drawstring of the package may be fastened without necessitating the tying of the same, the end of the package being opened, the cup l placed therein, and the package then drawn tight around the same, so as to hold it in position. If the device should be inverted when in the pocket or when not used otherwise, it will be observed that the valve 6 normally closes the entrance to the tube or former and prevents the discharge of the tobacco therethrough until the plunger-rod is elevated, so as to move the said valve 6 away from its position fol1 closing the opening into the tube or former.

It is to be noted that when the valve 6 is elevated, so as to permit the tobacco to flow into the tube or former, and as this valve is drawn downwardly it will act to feed the tobacco through the tube or former, forcing the tobacco downwardly into the latter, as will be readily apparent, and consequently acting as a feeder as well as a closure-valve. It will also be noted that the cup being made substantially oval in outline will neatly fit in the mouth of the package or pouch, as the pouch or package generally employed for containing the tobacco out of which cigarettes are rolled is of a substantially rectangular form, and by reason of this cup fitting neatly in the mouth of the bag or pouch the tobacco is prevented from getting in under the cup, and thus the last particle of tobacco in the pouch may be used.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a cigarette-former, a substantially oval-shaped cup, adapted to be secured in the mouth of a pouch or package, a tube or former oval shaped in cross-section connected eentrally to the cup, and a plunger having a reciprocating movement in the tube or former, said plunger having a valve rigidly aixed thereon near one end, and a packer secured to the other end, substantially as described.

2. In a cigarette-former, a cup and a tube or former centrally connected thereto, said cup adapted to be secured in the mouth ofa pouch, a plunger-rod extending through the tube or former and provided in one end with a fingerreceiving ring, a valve rigidly mounted on said plungerrod to normally close the entrance into the tube or former, and a packer carried on the other end of the rod, substantially as described.

3. A cigarette-forming device comprising a cup adapted to be secured within the pouch or package, a tube centrally connected to the cup, a means carried by the tube to which the draw-string of the pouch or package is secured, a plunger-rod extending through the tube or former, a valve rigidly connected to the inner end of the plunger-rod, and apacker carried on the outer end of said plunger-rod, substantially as described.

4. In a cigarette-former, a cup adapted to be secured in the mouth of a pouch or package, a tube centrally connected to said cup, and a plunger-rod operating in the tube and having a valve rigidly connected thereto near one end and a packer on its other end, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES O. BEATLEY.

W'itnesses:

JOHN GRAEBING, Jr., A. M. WILSON. 

